DURHAM, N.C., March 9, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Heat Biologics, Inc. (“Heat”) (HTBX), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of cancer immunotherapies, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation for HS-410 (vesigenurtacel-L) for the treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). HS-410 is Heat’s NMIBC product candidate and is based on its cutting-edge Immune Pan Antigen Cytotoxic Therapy (“ImPACT”) platform that is designed to generate killer T cells to attack cancers. HS-410 is currently being evaluated in a randomized Phase 2 trial in combination with BCG and as monotherapy for the treatment of NMIBC.
“We are very pleased that FDA has granted this important designation for HS-410,” said Melissa Price, Ph.D., Heat’s Vice President of Clinical Development and Regulatory Affairs. “The decision underscores the unmet need for bladder cancer treatments and serves as an additional validation for our clinical program. Currently there are limited therapeutic treatment options available for this patient population, with no new treatments approved in this setting in over 30 years.”
About FDA Fast Track Designation
The FDA established the Fast Track Drug Development Program under the FDA Modernization Act of 1997. The program is designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of therapies intended to treat serious or life-threatening conditions and that demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs. The advantages of Fast Track designation include actions to expedite development, including opportunities for frequent interactions with the FDA review team to discuss all aspects of development to support approval and eligibility for priority review depending on clinical data at the time of Biologics License Application (BLA) submission.
About Bladder Cancer and HS-410
According to the American Cancer Society, bladder cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the US with approximately 75,000 new cases in 2014 and 16,000 deaths. About 75% of the newly diagnosed patients have NMIBC. A key issue for bladder cancer is the high rate of recurrence, for which limited treatment options are available beyond complete bladder removal. Heat Biologics is examining candidate HS-410 in conjunction with standard treatment to stimulate the immune system and eliminate remaining cancer cells to prevent recurrence. The Company completed enrollment in a Phase 1 study and is expected to release interim data on 10 patients in the first half of 2015. A Phase 2 clinical trial is ongoing with a primary endpoint of recurrence-free survival. Heat is expected to complete enrollment in the Phase 2 study in the third quarter of 2015, which would make topline data available in the second half of 2016.
